would have to be
dependent on Europe and America for capital. Therefore Garvey's program
could not achieve the kind of freedom and equality which it claimed.
Johnson maintained that it would still be subject to oppression from
white imperialism. As such, the nation would only be an underdeveloped
area dependent on external financing and continually subjected to
economic exploitation. In foreign affairs it would always be small and
weak, and it would have to depend on some stronger ally for its defense.
It would only become a pawn for the great powers, all of which were white
Europeans or Americans. Johnson claimed that a separate African nation
would not provide the kind of power base which Garvey promised.

Although Garvey had, overnight, created the largest mass organization in
Afro-American history, it crumbled almost as quickly as it had been
built. The movement had been overly dependent on his personality.
However, Garvey cannot be dismissed so easily. Although his movement
disintegrated rapidly, the interest in black identity and black pride
which he had sparked, lingered on. Lacking a structure within which to
operate, it was not very obvious to the external observer. Nevertheless,
his ideas have clearly provided the spawning ground from which more
recent organizations have developed.

A. Philip Randolph: The Trumpet of Mobilization

The leadership style of A. Philip Randolph differed from that of
Washington, DuBois, and Garvey. His interest in providing jobs and skills
for the working class was akin to that of Washington. His aggressive
outspoken manner was more like that of DuBois. While lacking the
flamboyant style of Garvey, he was able to work among the ranks of the
working class and gain their acceptance. He, too, has demonstrated
considerable ability in mass organization. Like DuBois, he wanted to use
black solidarity as a wedge with which to break through discrimination
into a biracial society and not as an end in itself.

Asa Philip Randolph was born in Crescent City, Florida, in 1889. He was
raised in a strict religious home. His father was a local minister but he
also had to hold down another full-time job in order to support his
family. Early in the century, Randolph moved north and attended City
College in New York. During the First World War, Randolph, with Chandler
Owen, edited The Messenger and made it into an outspoken vehicle for
their own opinions. In its pages, they espoused a radica